


To become a shadow

by Noxfam



Series: Jason Skirata [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Drama, Becoming a bad person, Criminal Underworld, Dark, Dark Comedy, F/M, Flashbacks, Gaslighting, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Mandalorian, Mando'a Language (Star Wars), Origin Story, Psychological Torture, Sad, Self-Hatred, Some Fluff, Special Unit, The MC has at least ONE good role model, Time Skips, Violence, corrupt empire, the villain is also the mentor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:00:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27041647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noxfam/pseuds/Noxfam
Summary: After losing the best friend he ever had, Jason Skirata is thrust headfirst into the ranks of the Imperial purge troopers against his will to put his Mandalorian skills to use in destroying the remaining Jedi and carrying out atrocities in the empire's name.He's already lost everything he ever cared about...what use is his soul now?This is a collection of stories set during the 8 years of service he gave to the empire as a purge trooper.This story at times is not for the faint of heart.
Relationships: Original Child Character(s) & Original Mandalorian Characters, Original Clone Trooper Character(s) & Original Character(s)
Series: Jason Skirata [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900840
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	1. Loss.

_ “She’s gone… _ .”   
  
Those were the words that endlessly tortured my mind as I stared at the body laid upon the morgue table in the center of the small extraction shuttle. Pulled over the body was a dark black cover bearing the empire’s sigil.   
  
Sitting forward in my seat, I pulled the cover from the body's face, stopping when the eyes were visible. The once vibrant, full of life, bright green eyes I used to find myself getting lost in, now gave off a cold, sightless gaze. 

_“She’s gone and it’s_ ** _my fault._** ”  
  
Staring into Liana’s eyes, the world around me seemed to fade away and blackout. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t **_scream_**. My throat tightened and began to burn as if someone was pouring molten lava down it. Tears fell down from my cheek and onto the black cover that covered Liana.   
  
A hand was laid on my shoulder, pulling from my daze. The darkness of the world receded as I turned to see who the hand belonged to.   
  
It was a clone, sitting next to me and giving me a concerned look, “You holding together?”   
  
**_No._**   
  
“ _Yeah_...I’m holding together.” I choked out. 

The clone narrowed his eyes at me in a disbelieving gaze, “Alright….” he took his hand off my shoulder, “I’m sorry... _ about your squad. _ ” he awkwardly fiddled with his blaster, avoiding my gaze.    
  
“ _ Hey!” _ A voice called from the pilot's seat of the shuttle, “We don’t  _ do _ that.  _ It’s a sign of weakness. _ ”   
  
“Banthashit!” The clone shouted, shooting up from his seat, “The kid just lost his  _ entire  _ squad! He deserves  _ some _ sympathy!” 

_ Those words pierced my heart like a poisoned dagger. _

The other soldier piloting the shuttle flipped a few switches then stood up to match the clone, “Sit.  **_Down._ ** ”   
  
The clone crossed his arms, “If I _ don’t? _ ”    
  
The other soldier raised his arms and  _ pushed  _ the clone. The clone stumbled back, _ bumping into the table carrying Liana’s body _ . The table rolled a few inches before I reached out and stopped its motion. The air was sucked out of the room as they both slowly turned their heads to look at me. A single thought lurched forward in my mind, supplanting the layers of grief and remorse

“ **_How dare they._ ** ”   
  
Anger and hatred blended together in a violent, unstable mixture threatening to explode. I clenched my fists  _ tight,  _ my fingernails digging into the palms of my hands, in a desperate attempt to hold onto my rage and not take any action that could result in the table being disturbed any further.    
  
Red  _ pooled _ into my vision.   
  
I began to tremble with  **_rage,_ ** “Both of you,  **_sit down._ ** Or my hands will become covered ti gar  **_tal_ ** . “ I growled, meaning every word. The clone nodded and went back to his seat, gesturing at the other soldier, who had a confused look on his face, to do the same.    
  
The clone, again, fiddled with his blaster nervously, “I  _ am  _ sor-”   
  
“ **_Shev’la._ ** ”


	2. Cacaphony

  
  
The door of the ship hissed open and lowered, revealing several companies of soldiers marching. The barked orders of their captains mixed with the slamming of boots on metal grates and TIE engines that produced an annoying cacophony that pained my ears. My hands clenched tighter on the handles of the table as I tried to drown the sounds ( **_and the world_ ** ) out with my own thoughts.   
  
The clone and the stormtrooper walked down the ramp, the stormtrooper motioned at me to follow him. I sunk my head low and force my feet to march through the thick layers of grief holding me in a tight grasp.   
  
“TK-3768!”   
  
I quickly snapped my head up at my operating number being called. A familiar grey suit was approaching me escorted by two stormtroopers. He swaggered in confident strides that seemed to scream narcissism. He stopped in front of me, looking me up and down. His gaze shifted down to the table...to Liana. He reached down and quickly flicked off the dark cover making her face visible. My entire body stilled as I gripped the handles of the table even tighter, completely livid at the sheer disrespect.   
  
He stared at the body, letting out a displeased sigh. He looked back up at me, “Excellent Job bringing the body back. The senator would have our heads for not even returning his daughter’s corpse.” He spoke with complete apathy. 

_My anger was near boiling over as hissed through clenched teeth, “Ne shab'rud'ni…”_

He raised an eyebrow then smirked, “I...don’t know what is you said,” He turned around, “And to be honest I don’t really care.” he gestured to the stormtroopers, “Take the body to the morgue.”   
  
Within the second of the stormtroopers taking their first step, I tore by blaster from it’s holster and wildly swung it back and forth between the two stormtroopers. My hand shook with both uncertainty and anger.   
  
They stopped in their tracks, the barrel of their blasters swinging up and aiming at me.   
  
“ _Put the blaster_ **_down_ ** .” The first one shouted. I didn’t obey, merely gripping the handle of my blaster tighter. The grey suit finally turned around and gave me a glare.   
  
The clone walked in front of me, putting himself between me and the stormtrooper, hands outstretched in front of him to seem as non-threatening as possible, “Alright _listen._ How about we all just put our blasters _down._ ” The clone looked the grey suit in the eye, “She’s _his_ squadmate. Just let him take her to the morgue _himself_ .”   
  
The grey suit crossed his arms, “Alright...But this act of insubordination will _not_ be forgotten.”   
  
The clone shrugged, “Sounds fair to me. Now everyone _lower their blasters._ ”

Once the two stormtroopers lowered their blasters, I slowly holstered mine. The clone turned to me and gestured for me to move forward. I nodded and did just that.   
  
As I passed the clone I whispered, “ _Vor’e.”_   
  
He beamed and started to walk alongside me, “ _Kih’parjai.”_ he whispered back. We walked past the stormtroopers, the eyes of their helmets tracking me as we did. I could almost feel their glares through their helmets, as they tried to burn a hole in the side of my head.   
  
When we passed the grey suit gave me a smug grin. I locked my gaze to my boots and continued to march, playing a constant mantra of, “ _Keep_ **_walking._ ** ” in my mind.   
  
“ _It’s a shame really…”_ The grey suit called out, making my march come to a halt. 

“ _Perhaps if you didn’t have that tendency to insubordination..._ **_your squad would still be alive._ ** ” he mocked.   
  
The clone groaned loudly and placed his hand on my shoulder, leaning into my ear, “Look, just keep your bucket straight for now, alright?”   
  


_My breathing became ragged as my body shook with rage. Pure animosity flooded my system, as the_ **_thin_ ** _line the grey suit had been walking on in my mind had been_ **_cut._ ** _  
_ _  
_ I managed to turn my head enough to look at the clone. It was almost as if he could _hear_ my thoughts as he pursed his lips and muttered,   
  
“ **_Dammit._ ** ” _  
_


	3. choke

  
  
**_Red._ **  
  
That was all I could see as hatred bled into animosity. A hazy blood-colored fog swirled across my vision and blocked the world out, only leaving me somewhat conscious of what was happening.  
  


  
 _The butts of blasters crashed against laandur plastoid helmets. Boots planted onto necks. Fists slammed into abdomens. Arms squeezed the life from bodies. Voices cried out in_ **_pain._ **  
warm droplets of what I _assumed_ was rain fell onto me. A storm raged in my heart, lightning striking whenever my fists connected with a surface. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as blood pumped quickly through my veins.  
  


The hazy fog began to recede as consciousness returned to me in a steady stream. My hand was dug into the grey suit's hair, his face bloodied. I looked down at my other hand clenched in his jacket, it was covered in the same dark red liquid. I looked back down at the grey suit, his hands shot up to guard his face.  
  
 _He was afraid…_ _  
_ _  
_ ** _Good._**  
  
I panned around to my surroundings. A slew of stormtrooper bodies covered the space surrounding me. I may not have been fully conscious but I _knew_ that was my doing. I had _caused_ this destruction _..._

**_and I didn’t care._**  
  
Why should I? I was already _dead_. On Umbara I had lost everything. I knew at _this_ moment I had lost **_nothing_**. I closed my eyes, waiting to be swarmed by the surrounding companies of stormtroopers.  
  
I waited for several moments but nothing happened. Where I had expected to be tackled to the ground or shot I only heard the clamoring of soldiers. I opened my eyes and looked around. The stormtroopers were indeed trying to get to me but were held back by soldiers dressed in black and red armor.  
  
“So I’m assuming you’re about finished with your tantrum?” A modulated voice spoke from behind me.  
  
Before I could react, a hand was placed on my shoulder and I was jerked around to see a dark red visor mere inches from my face.  
  
The visor belonged to another one of those black soldiers, but this one...this one was different. He sported an extended red pauldron, with a bandolier strapped around him. He had two DC-15Es on his person, one clipped to his side and one strapped to his back. His Kama was a deep black with a dark red outlining. On his left thigh plate was a knife bearing the empire’s sigil on the sheath, and on his right was a DC-17. His helmet, unlike the others, was a phase II helmet with rebreathers and atmo filters defining the chin, as well as a rangefinder attached to the side.  
  
He gave a mocking salute, “I am Purge Trooper Cpt. Kaarn and _these,_ ” The soldier gestured to the other soldiers barring the stormtroopers from me, “ _are my purge troopers who are keeping you from execution.”_  
  


Grunting in disinterest, I snapped my gaze back down to the grey suit. Rage returned to me as I raised my bloodied fist to strike him _again._  
  
I heard a sigh from behind me, “ _To his knees._ ”  
  
Arms wrapped around mine and forced it behind my back, with another pair tearing my grip away from the grey suit and doing the same. Before I knew it I was forced to my knees. I thrashed around, trying to free myself from the iron grips that held me captive.  
  
A **_searing_** pain spread across my body, the only warning being a loud crackling sound from behind me. I screamed out in agony. The pain continued for several seconds before I felt pressure on my back being removed. My head slumped as I breathed long and ragged breaths.  
  
Footsteps walked around to the front of me. A hand dug into my hair, lifting up my head.  
  
“Let’s try this **_again_** _._ ” The purge trooper captain spoke, waving an electro-baton in front of my face. He let go of my hair and turned around. I looked to both sides of me to see who was keeping me held down. Two bright red visors belonging to two purge troopers stared back down at me. I tried to wrench my arms from their iron grasp, but all my struggles produced was a modulated chuckle from one of the purge troopers.  
  
I scowled, focusing on the purge trooper captain who was still looking around at the fallen stormtroopers.  
  
“ _Let me go,_ ” I barked at him. He turned around slowly as if remembering I was there. He gestured to the stormtroopers, “You made quite the mess, eh?”  
  
I glared at him, “ ** _I’m not done._** ”  
  
The captain turned around fully. “ _Actually, you_ ** _are._** ”  
  
He walked up to me once again gesturing to the destruction I had caused. “ _As you can_ _see,_ you’ve committed _treason_ , _TK_. The punishment for that is **death**.”  
  
“We gonna take out the trash, boss?” One of the purge troopers spoke up.  
  
The captain slowly looked over at the purge trooper. He stabbed a finger out toward them, “Let that be the **_last_** time you interrupt me.”  
  
“Y-Yes sir,” the purge trooper replied, slight fear in his voice. 

The captain sighed and looked back down at me. “To answer your question, _No._ We’re not killing hi-.”

“ **_What?_ ** ” The captain and I looked over to see the grey suit, holding his nose and glaring at the captain. “He has committed treason against the empire! I **_order_ ** you to execute him **this instant** !”  
  
The captain glanced back over to me and raised his finger. “You’ll spare me a moment, won’t you?”  
  
He turned and with a running start, he **slammed** his boot into the grey suit’s stomach. The grey suit cried out, clenching his arms around his stomach and curling into a ball.  
  
The captain stared down at him, “Would you like to interrupt me **again** or are you too busy catching your breath?” He spoke in a tone that was loud but not enough to be shouting.  
  
When the grey suit didn’t respond he turned around and walked back over to me. “Now you see TK, the difference between what I just did and what you did is that _I_ , like my unit, was never here.”  
  
I narrowed my eyes in confusion, “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
  
A modulated laugh came from the captain’s helmet, “You’ll find out in due time,” He looked up the purge troopers holding me, “Take him back to the ship... _and take the body he was carrying around with you._ ”  
  
Rage flared within me as I lunged forward at him, “ **_Ni hetti gar!_ **” I roared. 

The purge troopers quickly pushed me down to the floor, one of them putting a hand on the back of my head and pressing the side of my face into the floor.  
  
The captain walked around to my side and looked down at me, “Mando’a. You speak it... fluently at that,” He raised the tip of his boot and nudged my face with it, “You may be a bigger prize than I had once thou-”  
  
A heard a loud gasp as if someone was breathing for the first time in their life, “ **_You bastard! You dare strike me?!_ ** ” The grey suit shouted.  
  
The captain sighed, unholstering his DC-17 and walking out of my line of vision.  
  
“Wait! **_St-_ ** ” The grey suit was cut off by the sound of a blaster firing accompanied by a bright flash of red light. I thought that was the end of it, although I was upset my kill had been stolen, but then came another flash.  
  
And another. 

_And another._  
  
 ** _And another._**  
  
“Uh, boss? I think he’s dead…” The modulated voice of one of the purge troopers spoke while holding me down.  
  
“Oh, you think so?” The captain responded, followed by yet _another_ sound of a blaster being fired and a bright flash of light. There was a long silence before the captain walked back into my line of sight. He leveled his gaze with mine, aiming his blaster at me.  
  
He took off his helmet with his free hand, revealing the face of a clone. There was a bright red tattoo on the side of his face. His hair was styled in a disconnected cut, the hair on top coming forward and the fringe swept to one side with the hair on the sides of his head shaven down to a fade. His look was far different than I’d seen any clone have. Or more directly… _be allowed to have_

He flicked a switch on his blaster. “Welcome to the purge troopers, _cadet._ ”  
  
 **_Then he fired._ **

  
**_  
_**


	4. Interrogation

**  
**“Sir?”  
  
I looked away from my work and to the door. There stood relatively tall _rancor_ of a clone, his helmet off, and held to his side.  
  
“You need something, Breaker?” I asked, gesturing for him to take the chair in front of my desk.  
  
He raised his hand and shook his head, “No, sir. Just came to tell you that the prisoner is awake.”  
  
I stood up from my chair, “Good, but he’s not a prisoner. He’s our _new addition_.”  
  
Breaker scrunched his face, “A nat-born? In our unit?”  
  
I picked my helmet off of the desk, tucking it under my arm. I walked over to the clone who gave me a quick salute.  
  
“That _nat-born,”_ I placed my helmet on my head, locking the seals and booting up my HUD. I looked up at Breaker and my helmet began to analyze his face, pulling his file and placing it on the side of my vision, “killed 15 stormtroopers, most of them _with his bare hands_.”  
  
I began to walk forward and out into the hall, the clone followed close behind me, “ Really?” he asked, looking down at me and putting on his helmet.  
  
“ ‘Lek, and if that’s not enough to _convince_ you he _may_ be Mandalorian.” A smirk spread across my face.  
  
We turned into a more crowded hallway. As I passed the troops saluted me then went about their business. Breaker leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “ _He’s Mandalorian?”_  
  
I cocked my head to the side and away from him, “It’s not a _secret,_ Breaker. You don’t have to whisper.”  
  
He pulled his head away, “Oh. Sorry boss. But if he's a Mandalorian how are you gonna get him to work for us?”  
  
I grinned under my helmet,  
  
 _“I have my ways.”_  
 **  
**

* * *

**  
**With a few more twists and turns within this labyrinth I deemed my base, we were at the detention block. I walked past each room but was given pause when a loud scream echoed from one of the rooms. I closed my eyes, raising my head, and savoring the cry of pain.  
  
The scream inevitably dissolved until I couldn’t hear it anymore. I looked over at Breaker, “That was a good one. Who was that?”  
  
The purge trooper rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the sky in deep thought, “A Jetii. _Junda_ was the last name I think. They’re getting moved to Fortress Inquisitorius today.”  
  
“And the one doing the torturing?”  
  
“Burner’s in there at the moment.” He knocked on the door to the interrogation room three times. After a short silence, a series of knocks could be heard from the other side of the door.  
  
The purge trooper cracked up laughing, “He just told us to _kark off_ in dadita,” He turned to me, “He obviously doesn’t know you’re here, gimme a sec.” Breaker knocked on the door again.  
  
After a _very_ long silence, rapid and frantic knocks could be heard. The Purge trooper folded over laughing, “ _He’s-He’s apologizing!_ ”  
  
I grunted and continued to walk down the hall, “ _Smart man._ ”  
  
Walking down to the end of the hallway, I stood in front of a heavy-duty door. I shifted my gaze over to Breaker who had just caught up with me.  
  
“I’m going to be in here for a while so I need you to do a few things for me,” I said to him.  
  
He nodded and pulled a holo-pad from a pouch strapped across his front.  
  
“Tell Burner he can take the rest of the day off to do whatever he wants in Coruscant for the scream.”  
  
The Purge trooper nodded and typed into the holo-pad.  
  
“Two devaronian women will show up at the entrance in about 4 hours. If they’re wearing less clothing than any _decent_ person should send them to my quarters. if not they’re assassins sent by a rogue hutt and should be taken out back.”  
  
Breaker looked up at me and stared for a second, “ _Right…”_ he said slowly as he looked back down and typed into his holo-pad.  
  
“I had a meeting with a grey suit today. Tell him the mess hall blew up and that I won’t be able to make it.”  
  
“Do you want us to blow up the mess hall to really sell it?” He said without a single ounce of fluctuation in his tone.  
  
“No. If they send a clone down replace him with one of ours and send him back. That way we’ll have ears down at the NIA.”  
  
The clone lowered his holo-pad, “What would we need ears for?”  
  
I narrowed my eyes at him, “ _I’m sure you’d like to know_. Have you gotten down everything I’ve told you?”  
  
“Yessir.” The clone responded, slipping the holo-pad back into its pouch.  
  
“Jate. See you in a couple hours.”  
  
The purge trooper saluted me and set off to complete his tasks. I sighed, pressing a button on the side of the door. The screached open slowly with a hissing sound. I had been ordered by superiors to get that fixed, but I thought it added... _atmosphere_. When the door finally opened I stepped in pressing a button to have the door close. It **_slammed_** shut quickly causing a loud **bang** to echo around the room. I looked to the interrogation table and there stood a man clad in white stormtrooper armor that contrasted with his dark black hair. He was apparently in the process of trying to free himself from the table  
  
I pressed two fingers to my forehead then pointed them at the disheveled-looking stormtrooper in a half-hearted salute.,  
  
“Morning. _”_


	5. Chained

## POV: Jason

My head throbbed with an irritating pain. I had woken up in a dimly lit room without even an interrogation window. There were vents though. I assumed those were for when more… _deadly_ detainment measures were needed.  
  
The back of the metal chair I was sat in dug into my back causing me to sit up to remove the pressure. There was a slight scraping sound as I pulled my arms back across the table. I looked down at my wrists...  
  
They were both shackled to the table.  
  
I’m not sure why but this really set me off. I started frantically pulling the chains taut. Standing up out of my chair, I pulled my arms up and to the side in an attempt to break the chains.  
  
“ _Kark…_ ” I grumbled quietly as the shackles stayed intact. Raising my boot, I set it onto the edge of the table. I counted to three in my head, getting ready to _kick_ the shab’la chains off.  
  
 _One._ _  
_ _  
_ _Two._ _  
_ _  
_ ** _Thr-_** _  
__  
_The door to the room started to open with a nearly painful screeching sound. I winced, my boot instantly coming down from the table. The door eventually stopped screaming and a black armored soldier walked in.  
  
 _“Morning._ ” He greeted me bluntly, pressing two fingers to his forehead then pointing them at me in a half-hearted salute. My vision eventually began to focus and I could finally make out the details of the soldier.  
  
 _I knew that armor._  
  
 _“_ ** _You._** ” I hissed, my voice low. He slipped the helmet off of his head and held it to his side. His unique haircut confirmed my suspicions, but strangely enough, the bright red tattoo on the side of his face was gone...  
  
He cocked his head to the side, his expression showing a faked hurt, “That’s no way to greet your new captain, now is it?”  
  
“ _What?_ ”  
  
He didn’t answer, simply smirking and walking over the chair on the other side of the table. He sat himself down into it, sliding his helmet under the chair. He placed his hands down on each of his thighs, then stared at me as if he expected something from me.  
  
 _“What do you want?”_ I growled at him, rage starting to bubble up inside of me.  
  
He pursed his lips, shrugging then gesturing at the chair, “Well for starters, you _sitting your ass in the chair_ would be _swell_.”  
  
I glanced back at the chair then back at him, “ ** _No._** ”  
  
He narrowed his eyes at me, seeming only minorly inconvenienced by my disobedience. He let out a sigh, looking away from me, “ _Fobi Skirata, Sijin Skirata, Kal Skirata, Ord-”_ _  
_ _  
_I slammed my hands down onto the table, barely able to feel the ends of my fingers as fear and dread raced through my body. My heart started to pound rapidly at the names of my aliit passing his lips.  
  
 _“_ ** _How do you know those names?!_** ” I hissed, getting as into his face as the shackles would let me. _  
__  
_“I know a _lot_ of things, sergeant,” He nodded over the chair behind me, “ _Sheber_.”  
  
I glowered at him for a moment longer, before dragging the chair behind me with my foot and sitting down.   
  
His eyes finally met with mine. He started to look me up and down as if studying every square inch of my person. I felt an even greater irritation rising. He wasn’t saying **_anything_** _._ This was supposed to be an _interrogation,_ wasn’t it?  
  
I sat forward in my chair. If he was going to ask any questions, I _was._  
  
“ _Where is she?”_ my voice cut through silence off the room.  
  
The purge trooper captain looked me in the eyes, “ _She?_ We don’t have any of those here,” he chuckled, “ _at least not for a few hours_.”  
  
“Where the _fuck_ did you take her? _Do_ ** _not_** _play dumb_.” I snarled.  
  
He gave me a smug smirk, then reached down to his bandolier. He clicked off a pouch, then flicked it open with his thumb. Inside the pouch were a few cigarettes and a small lighter, leaning loosely on the side of the pouch.  
  
“ _You smoke?_ ” he asked bluntly.  
  
“I asked _you_ a **question**.”  
  
“I’ll take that as a _no,_ ” he muttered under his breath, pulling a cigarette from the pouch and placing it between his lips. He took the lighter from the pouch, lighting up his cigarette then tossed everything onto the table, _“I’ll leave that there for you..._ ” he said with a smirk.  
  
He relaxed in his chair, the end of his cigarette flaring up as he took a drag, immediately blowing the smoke back out.  
  
He looked down to the floor with a pondering expression on his face. He clicked his tongue once and started to shake his head softly, “ _Tell me…_ ” His gaze met mine, “What _is_ a Skirata doing so far away from Kyrimorut?”  
  
My blood went cold once more as my mouth started to feel more and more _dry._ How… _How did this shabuir_ _know the location of my aliit when most if not all of the Mando’ade clans didn’t?_  
  
My heart filled with dread as I realized that if _he_ knew... then the Empire most likely would know soon if not already. If the Empire was to go after my aliit… it would be _my_ fault.  
  
“Wha… what do you… _what do you want_?” I breathlessly strained out. Suddenly I found myself fighting for each breath.  
  
An eyebrow raised and the edges of his lips tipped up into an amused grin, “ _Pardon?_ ” He leaned forward flicking the half-finished cigarette butt onto the floor.  
  
I stared at the table, taking deep breaths to try and get my heart from beating so karking fast.  
  
 _“What do I have to do for you to keep silent?”_ I was desperate. I had to do _something_ but this _chakaaryc_ held all the cards. I could only hope that he didn’t realize that yet.  
  
“ _Sweetheart…”_ He stood up from his chair, and started to walk around it over to me, “I already _have_ everything I want from you.” He stopped right next to me. Just far away enough to keep himself out of arm’s reach. _The coward._  
  
Before I could open my mouth to bargain further a hand shot out quickly grasping my jaw and turning my head to the left and up to meet the captain’s eyes. I reached up and tried to tear his hand from my face but he had an iron grip that dug even further into my jaw as I resisted.  
  
“ _Almost._ There is something I still want…” He leaned in close,  
  
“ ** _You._** ”  
  
  



	6. A shadow is cast

**POV: Kaarn  
  
  
  
** A grin spread across my face as I drank in the pure animosity this mando’ad-- _Jason_ \--held in his eyes. I guessed he was trying to curse at me as a few muffled noises sounded from his mouth slightly reverberating into my palm.  
  
“ _I want you…_ ” I let go of him, pushing his head back as I did so, _“to fight me._ ”  
  
He rubbed at his jaw, “ ** _Shabuir…_** ”  
  
 _So I was right._  
  
Reaching up to my bandolier, I flicked open a pouch, pulling a key from it. I tossed the key into the air once then snatched it back into my grasp and tossed it onto the table.  
  
Jason narrowed his eyes at me before cautiously shifting his gaze over to the key, “...Why?”  
  
“Can’t fight with your hands bound, _now can you_?”  
  
“Why do you want to fight me?”  
  
I responded immediately and with an even wider grin, “For my amusement of course.”  
  
He scowled at that, “Your _amusement?_ ”  
  
Taking a seat on the table, I got into his face, “ ** _Yes._** How about I make it _fun_ for you too?”  
  
He didn’t respond, merely glaring into my eyes as I stared right back into his. I...hadn’t noticed until now just how stunningly _bright_ his eyes were. They didn’t _glow_ of course but they were a rather light shade of purple. _They certainly weren’t a bad thing to look at._  
  
“If you beat me, I’ll not only keep my mouth shut. I’ll also get you on the nearest transport back to Mandalore as well as returning your _squadmate_ back to you.” I stated plainly, leaning forward and standing _up_ and _off_ of the table.  
  
His expression darkened, “ _And If I lo-”_  
  
“ ** _I own you._** ” I cut Jason off, facing away from him. I turned back around, my grin completely gone. This wasn’t a joke and I wanted him to _know it_. “If you lose, you will become a purge trooper in my service. Your life will belong to me and me alone.”  
  
I expected his expression to shift into one of surprise but he didn’t even blink. A smile returned to my face. He was really starting to amuse me, this _Mandalorian_ hiding in a stormtrooper’s armor.  
  
Silence dominated the room as he continued to glare at me. I pondered whether or not he was considering his options. If so he shouldn’t have been. _He had none._  
  
He grunted, reaching out to the key and taking it into his hand, “ _Word of advice,_ ” he unlocked the first cuff, “ _I won’t stop. Even if you beg. I_ ** _will_** _kill you._ ”  
  
I frowned, starting to think that maybe he was as much of a _di’kut_ as he was a fighter, “Then how do you expect our deal to go through?” I leaned forward, “ _You do know I have to be alive to approve of your transfer, yes?”_  
  
 _Right then the second cuff came unlocked and this_ ** _hound_** _of a boy was finally off his leash._ _  
_ _  
_He didn’t even respond as he lunged at me as soon as he got the chains off. I simply side-stepped, knocking his hands away with my right and reeling my left back before I drilled it into his cheek.  
  
 _So I was right. He was a fool._  
  
To his credit, the purple-eyed boy quickly recovered, shrugging off the punch like he didn’t even receive it and moving into a stance.  
  
I got into a stance of my own, beckoning him to come at me with a curl of my finger.  
  
He snarled and charged at me. His right fist shot out towards my face but I ducked under it, catching his arm by the wrist, twisting around, and driving my elbow into his side causing him to let out a gasp. Grabbing his arm with both hands, I leaned forward quickly, heaving him up over my shoulder and slamming him down onto the floor. His body bounced once before coming to rest.  
  
The boy’s eyes were screwed shut as he desperately gasped for air that wouldn’t come to him. He was winded. He was _done_. _Already..._  
  
I grunted, thoroughly displeased as I slid my blaster out of its holster and aimed it at his head, “I’m… _unimpressed._ ”  
  
Just then his eyes snapped open, hands quickly reaching up and grabbing my arm. He twisted the blaster out of my grip causing it to fall to the floor, and in a swift motion bent his lower half up, bracing one foot on my groin, the other on my chest. He lifted me into the air before slamming me down onto the ground at his feet, immediately placing my arm into an arm-bar. I -- _apparently unlike this Mando_ \-- knew how to fall, letting my side take the brunt of it and slapping a cupped hand down to the floor. Turning onto my back, I pulled out my electro-baton and primed it. I was seconds from jamming it into before an immense bolt of pain shot up through my arm and into the rest of my body.  
  
 ** _The bastard just broke my arm…_**  
  
I nearly dropped the baton on account of the pain but powered through it, tightening my grip on the baton and slamming it into his hip. He screamed out in pain as the electricity started to roll over his body.  
  
I didn’t stop.  
  
I kept pumping electricity into his body, finding utter glee in the shouts and cries of pain. Eventually, the screams ceased. I turned off the baton. His grip on my arm had loosened enough to let me slip out of his grasp.  
  
I rolled away from him -- _a painstakingly difficult task given my injury--_ and rose from the ground, taking in the sight of the shuk’la mando’ad beneath me. He was completely limp on the ground, seemingly not breathing. His purple eyes were dulled, sightless, staring at nothing at all. I began to wonder if had _killed_ him. If I had _overestimated_ his durability.  
  
I let out a sigh and reached behind me, “ _Well… just as a precaution,”_ I pulled out the electro-collar clipped to my waist, “ _I’d better collar the_ **_mutt_**.”  
  
Slowly making my way over to him, I paid attention to every inch of his body, watching for even the slightest twitch of a finger. As I got closer, the stench of burnt flesh grew more apparent and I confirmed that he wasn’t breathing, his chest not even moving a _centimeter_.  
  
 _Shit. I think I really did kill the boy..._  
  
I didn’t let that slow me as I continued my approach. Finally, I was standing at his feet, scanning him one last time just to make sure he wasn’t moving. Having confirmed that he _wasn’t_ , I crouched down and fixed the collar onto his neck. _A difficult task, considering I only had one hand at the moment._ There was a loud _clang_ sound accompanied by two beeps as the collar closed around his neck.  
  
I let out another sigh and closed my eyes. It was over. I _won._ ** _He was mine now._**  
  
Opening my eyes, I was met with an _admittedly_ scary sight. The boy, _Jason, was_ staring _directly_ at me, wearing a blank expression on his face. His eyes were now entirely focused and... _yellow?_ His purple eyes had changed to a bright yellow and red.  
  
Jason’s lips moved but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I felt a sudden pressure on my stomach before I was _flung_ backward with _massive_ force. My back was slammed against the wall knocking every bit of air I had in my lungs right out of me. Near-mind numbing pain overtook me as my broken arm slammed against the wall as well causing me to let out a shout.  
  
 _Was that a_ ** _kick_** _?_  
  
I fell onto the floor, somehow finding the strength to prop myself up on my good arm and _not_ faceplant.  
  
I couldn’t breathe and an immense pain permeated my body. _This was bad._ I could hardly _move_ either.  
  
Just then a white plastoid boot stepped into the specific space of floor my eyes were locked onto. I managed to look up... _right into the barrel of blaster-of_ ** _my_** _blaster._ I looked past the deece and into Jason’s eyes that were _filled_ with hate, “ _I told you…”_ he _stuck_ the blaster into my forehead, _“that I_ ** _would_** _kill you_.”  
  
I shifted my gaze over to the electro-collar, lights flashing on the side of it to show it was activated. Grinning, I felt the air finally start to properly fill my lungs again, “ _And what did I tell you?_ ” It was time for this to end, _“_ ** _Emergency activation mode two_**.”  
  
The collar beeped loud and rapidly before administering a high voltage shock to Jason. He screamed out in pain, blaster dropping to the floor. I smiled widely basking in the beautiful song of his cries.  
  
The electricity eventually cut off and Jason fell to his knees. His body was limp once more. Eyes once again appearing distant and mouth agape. This time I was sure he was out. The _emergency activation_ was specifically tailored to incapacitating the wearer of the collar.  
  
The pain was starting to subside and I was able to rise from the ground once more, my victory _firmly_ secured this time around.  
  
I raised my boot into the air, placing it onto Jason’s face and _pushing_ him over chuckling as I did so.  
  
Making my way back to the table I sat down in the chair I was in before, grabbing my helmet from beneath it and sliding it onto my head. My HUD immediately booted up, scanning the room, analyzing my physical condition, and alerting me that there was someone behind me… _an unconscious Jason._  
  
I blinked four times and my helmet immediately started to call up Breaker.  
  
“-- _Yeah boss?_ \--”  
  
“I’m done. Send Bank up here to take the Mando’ad to a cell.”  
  
“-- _He’s with me right now. I’ll send him up.--”_ _  
_ _  
_“And tell Gett’se I’m coming to see him.”  
  
“-- _You wanna see_ _Gett’se? What happened? Are you hurt?--_ ” Breaker responded quickly, letting the Ori’vod in him shine through.  
  
I turned to look at Jason on the floor, his eyes were purple again. _Had I just imagined them changing?_  
  
Pausing for a second, I glared at Jason for being the cause of what I was about to say,  
  
“I underestimated him.”  
  
  
Chapter 6, end.


	7. Burn

## POV: Jason  
  


My eyes snapped open but I was only met with darkness. It took a while but I had finally gotten used to that feeling. _  
  
I had to get used to a lot of things recently.  
  
_ The bitter coldness of the room gnawed at my body constantly. The equally cold and hard floor that was my “bed”. The aching pains that came from wounds left untreated. The piercing screams next to my cell would wake me up in the middle of the night. _Not that I could tell if it was night or not._  
 _  
_I heard the door to my cell slide open and the room was immediately filled with light. I kept my head down  
  
 _“Jason! How’s my favorite screamer doing?”_ a cheerful voice called out.  
 _  
I had to get used to a lot of things recently, but the hardest thing to get used to..._  
  
“Say, how long has it been since we’ve seen each other? Last _week_? Oh my…” the voice continued on as footsteps grew closer.  
  
Without warning my head was yanked up by my hair and I was looking into the face of a clone. His eyes were shifting erratically like he was trying to decide which of my eyes he wanted to focus on.  
  
“That won’t do, _now will it?_ We have to catch up, vod!”  
  
 _The hardest thing to get used to was_ ** _him_** _._  
  
“That’s, um, not what the captain sent us here for, Burner.” A cautious sounding voice called out from behind him.  
  
Burner quickly rolled his eyes and sighed before letting go of my hair. I was awake enough now to keep my head up.  
  
“Yeah yeah, we’re here to _feed_ him,” Burner stood and walked over to a soldier -- _no doubt another clone_ \-- in that signature black and red armor I had also gotten used to.   
  
Burner placed his hand down on the soldier’s shoulder with enough force to cause him to slightly spill some of the more slippery foods from the plate he was holding.  
  
 _“You don’t have to remind me, Bank,” he tapped the side of his head. “_ Remember: _I’m smarter than you._ ”  
  
“ _Okay._ ” Bank responded quickly.   
  
Burner patted Bank’s cheek, “ _Good boy._ ”  
  
He took a step back and nodded over to me, “Give him his dinner.”  
  
 _Dinner. So it’s night._ _  
_ _  
_ _I had kept count of the dinners I was given. One a day. This marked the seventh._ _  
_ _  
_ _Seven dinners. Seven days._ _  
_ _  
_ _I’ve been locked up here for a_ ** _week._**  
  
Bank nodded and made his way over to me and crouched, placing the plate down. Without missing a beat Burner walked back over and kicked the plate causing the small amount of food left on it to spill fully onto the floor. The fork clanked loudly against the ground. Some of the soft-looking foods hit the floor with a _thud_ instead of a splat.  
  
Bank jumped, falling backward onto his hands with a slight yelp.  
  
I didn’t move. A part of me expected that to happen. I simply looked at Burner as he glared down at me with a disgusted expression.  
  
“The boss’ll be here to talk to you in a few hours.” He turned around again and walked away, “ _Be sure not to go anywhere..._ ” he mocked as he left the dreadfully small room.  
  
Bank watched the door for a little while before whispering, “That was _rude_.”  
  
He stood up and patted himself off. He seemed like he was about to leave as well before he looked down to what was _supposed_ to be my meal for the day. Bank sighed and crouched down again, flipping the plate back over and taking the fork into his hand.  
  
He then began to scrape the food back onto the plate, “I... _can’t get more for you_. _Ni ceta..._ ”  
  
That… _shocked me._ Not only was he going out of his way for me but he also _apologized?_ _I started to wonder if this one was different than the others._  
  
Once he was done Bank held the plate out to me. With the hesitance unbecoming of a soldier I took the plate from him and just… _held_ it.  
  
Bank glanced behind him and let out another sigh, “ _He isn’t all bad._ ” He looked at me, “Burner, I mean. He um… looks out for me whenever Poi or Adenn pick on me. _He’s... probably just having a bad day._ ”  
  
I didn’t respond.  
  
He flashed me a nervous smile.  
  
“You haven’t said much, is everything alright?” he asked in a concerned tone that was… _new._  
  
He stared at me for a while waiting for me to answer.  
  
I wasn’t going to. Kal’buir and Ord’ba’vodu taught me better than that.  
  
Bank’s shoulders slouched a bit, his disappointment visible. His hands moved up causing me to immediately flinch. He froze, his body going stiff before relaxing slightly with _another_ sigh, “Ni ceta, I was just…” he placed his hands on either side of his helmet. It hissed loudly before sliding off of his head.  
  
Under the helmet was a clone, as I had suspected, although this one wore a kind smile and had thoughtful eyes. He had a long scar that stretched from one corner of his mouth to his ear.  
  
Bank looked away, tracing the scar with his finger, “So um… _is your back feeling be-”_ _  
_ _  
_“ _Bank! Get here_ ** _now!_** _”_ Burner shouted, causing Bank to jump once more.  
  
He hastily fixed his helmet back onto his head, standing up and walking backwards away from me, “ I need to- I have to, _I’m sorry,_ I gotta leave…” he stammered out.  
  
The second he walked out of the room the door slammed closed behind him, leaving me in darkness once more.  
  
I sighed, setting the plate to the side and laying down on my back. My hands reflexively moved up to my neck latching onto my shock-collar, getting my finger between it and my neck trying to provide some relief to the uncomfortable grip it had on me.  
  
Some nights it worked and some nights it didn’t.  
  
Tonight it did. _  
_ _  
_I began to drift off back to sleep knowing I’d be woken up only a few hours later and most likely in an _unkind_ manner.  
  
But for now, I’ll dream of better things.  
  
For now, I’ll dream of _her_.  
  



	8. Acceptance

**POV: Kaarn**  
  
The cell door hissed open, revealing a dark haired man clothed in rags, knees clenched to his chest as he sat on the floor. As light flooded into the small room, the man looked up at me. To my surprise, what I had thought to be my own rampant imagination turned out to be reality. His eyes really  _ did _ glow. It gave his eyes the feeling of something almost...  _ predator _ -like.   
  
_ But I am  _ **_far_ ** _ from prey. _   
  
Stepping into the room, I unhooked a purge trooper helmet from my utility belt and dropped it at my feet.   
  
“It’s been a full week since you first came here. I’ve grown tired of this game, Jason,” I kicked the helmet over to him, it hitting his shin with a thud, “Put the helmet on.  _ The conditioning will stop if you obey. _ ”   
  
There was a long, unyielding silence as we both stared at each other. Then Jason made his decision.    
  
_ He looked away and kicked the helmet back over to me. _   
  
I narrowed my eyes at him, letting out a sigh as I mumbled, “ _ So that’s how it’s gonna be…” _ _   
_ _   
_ Lazily making my way over to Jason, I crouched down in front of him. I took on a considerate expression.    
  
“ _ Jason…  _ this world has taken so  _ much _ from you.” I held out my hand to him, “So let’s make a deal. I’ll give you everything,  _ anything  _ that you could want. All you have to do is put on the helmet and join me.”   
  
The boy met my gaze once more. I knew the look he was giving me. He was considering his options again. And  _ again _ he had  **none** . We both knew he had no one left. No one that wanted him anyhow. He was Mando’ad sure, but if his clan really wanted him back I’d most likely be dead already. He was an outcast. Discarded. Dar’manda.   
  
Well...if they don’t want him, I’ll welcome him into  _ my _ family with open arms _. _   
  
_ After all, one man’s trash… _   
  
“ **_No._ ** ” Came a deep and raspy voice. Came  _ Jason’s _ voice, severing my line of thought.   
  
It had been one week. One week of  _ endless _ torture. From IT-O droids to simple whips. I had  _ thought  _ that would be enough to break any man. Any  _ soul _ . Clearly I had overestimated Burner’s capabilities and  _ underestimated _ the stubbornness of my guest.   
  
I sighed again, thoroughly done with asking for permission. With the hand I had extended, I reached for his back, “Has your back healed yet? Burner may have gone a bit far in his treatment of-” before my fingers could even graze his back, Jason caught my wrist, his grip was awfully  _ tight _ for a starved man.   
  
I scoffed and hissed, “ **_Luubid_ ** **.** ”   
  
Jason's eyes went wide as the collar around his neck started to beep rapidly letting out a small but  _ painful _ shock. The boy let out a shout, his grip on my wrist quickly loosening. I took the chance to pull my arm free, grab hold of his hair, and  _ yank _ his head back to look me in the eyes.   
  
His eyes were full of hatred and fire now. I knew he wanted to attack me but to his credit the boy was smart enough to not need a  _ second _ demonstration as to why that’s a  _ bad _ idea.   
  
“That was your  **only** warning. You will  _ not _ touch me.” I growled, “If you wish to be stubborn, fine.” I pushed away his head, removing it from my grasp.“There are plenty of places to dump bodies around here.” I threatened, turning around. Before I left the room I took one last glance back to him, “Oh and,  _ don’t worry. _ Your body  _ isn’t _ the one I’ll be dumping.”    
  
I wasn’t even sure if a second had passed before a frantic sounding “ _ Wait _ ” came from behind me.   
  
A toothy grin spread across my face as I turned around to look at Jason. The boy was no longer hugging his knees, his eyes holding a hint of fear.   
  
“ _ Whose body then?” _ _   
_ _   
_ I scratched the side of my cheek and looked off into a corner of the room, “Ah well that’s a  _ secret _ , you see and I only tell secrets to me family.” I smirked, looking him dead in the eyes, “ _ but I’m sure you can guess, can’t you  _ _Jassy_ _? _ ”   
  
His gaze fell to the floor, breath quickening as he seemed to grasp just  _ who _ I was talking about.    
  
He slowly stood up from the dirty floor he was resting on, quickly rising above my own height. The boy bent down and picked up the helmet from the floor. The grin on my face grew even wider as he then stood before me and I could see  **it** in his eyes.   
  
**_Acceptance_ ** .


End file.
